Lippert Axle Grease?

Message Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic

   The R-Pod uses Lippert Axles.  The axle manual suggests that any of the following is acceptable:
Mobilgrease HP/Exxon-Ronex MP/Kendall L-427/Valvoline Val-Plex (#615)/ or Pennzoil 707L.

I want to carry a grease gun with me to 'top' off the axle bearings through the Zerk fittings when I have been hauling the Pod a long distance on a single trip.

So, I have a couple of questions:
1) Can I use any of the above with each other?  I don't know what brand that Lippert uses at the factory, so there is a good chance that which ever of the above I use will not be the same brand as
provided at the factory.
2) Has any member bought any of the above brands in a 'tube' (to be used in a grease gun rather than hand packing)?
   If so, do you have a recommendation where to buy of these greases.  
   I have checked with over half a dozen auto-parts dealers in my home town and only one had one of the recommended greases...and they only carried  the Kendal in tubs and not tubes.

Author	Message Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic
TIDALWAVE Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 21 Nov 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Online Status: Offline Posts: 315	Topic: Lippert Axle Grease? Posted: 17 Jun 2011 at 5:34pm
	The R-Pod uses Lippert Axles. The axle manual suggests that any of the following is acceptable: Mobilgrease HP/Exxon-Ronex MP/Kendall L-427/Valvoline Val-Plex (#615)/ or Pennzoil 707L. I want to carry a grease gun with me to 'top' off the axle bearings through the Zerk fittings when I have been hauling the Pod a long distance on a single trip. So, I have a couple of questions: 1) Can I use any of the above with each other? I don't know what brand that Lippert uses at the factory, so there is a good chance that which ever of the above I use will not be the same brand as provided at the factory. 2) Has any member bought any of the above brands in a 'tube' (to be used in a grease gun rather than hand packing)? If so, do you have a recommendation where to buy of these greases. I have checked with over half a dozen auto-parts dealers in my home town and only one had one of the recommended greases...and they only carried the Kendal in tubs and not tubes.
	TIDALWAVE

Goose Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 24 Sep 2010 Location: Arizona Online Status: Offline Posts: 672	Posted: 18 Jun 2011 at 2:32am
	I need to pull out the bearings to clean them and then regrease them before we use our POD, still have two big projects to finish before I look at the POD. I have not thought about what grease to use so I thank you for your leg work. I believe what I would do is to clean the old grease from the bearings and repack them by hand with the one brand that you can get then repack the grease gun that you want to use for the bearings by hand with the rest of the grease in the tub. We traveled right around 3000 miles last year with the POD so I will spend the time and a few dollars to repack the bearings to prevent a failure on the road. Before we left last year I did hit each bearing with the grease gun using the grease that I had in it, making sure that I had grease coming back out through the bearing. On our trip I checked the bearings at every stop for excessive heat and they ran cool the whole way. Goose
	Mother Goose's Caboose..2011 RP171..07 Grand Cherokee

Outbound Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Location: Oshawa, Ontario Online Status: Offline Posts: 767	Posted: 18 Jun 2011 at 9:13am
	I advise against topping off the bearing on a regular basis as a form of preventative maintenance. You'll just end up pressurizing he grease in there, potentially creating a situation where grease gets past the rear seal and onto the brakes. Regular inspection, cleaning and repacking of your bearings is the best plan. Do it annually, every spring before heading out, if you're concerned.
	Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150

TIDALWAVE Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 21 Nov 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Online Status: Offline Posts: 315	Posted: 20 Jun 2011 at 3:22pm
	The Lippert axles have a 180 degree turnaround for greasing through the zerk fittings...extra grease supposedly exits the unit adjacent to the zerk. The manual states that over-pumping of grease will cause the grease to exit at the open end of the hub and not force grease through the seals on the inner face. Does this mean that we are paying for a feature in the Lippert axles, which doesn't really work?
	TIDALWAVE

Outbound Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Location: Oshawa, Ontario Online Status: Offline Posts: 767	Posted: 20 Jun 2011 at 4:06pm
	IMHO, yes. Besides... if grease only comes out through the front bearing, how do you get grease into the rear bearing? Alternatively, if grease does get squeezed through the rear bearing, where does it go? The only place it can go is onto the brakes. For general maintenance, squeezing extra grease in there is a bad idea all around. However, the zerk fitting would be handy if you submerged the rear axle. You could squeeze in the grease and force out any water.
	Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150

Goose Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 24 Sep 2010 Location: Arizona Online Status: Offline Posts: 672	Posted: 20 Jun 2011 at 5:30pm
	Just what I was always told, that by filling the space between the bearings with grease not only removes a place for moisture to build up but as the grease warms up and becomes more fluid it bathes the bearings so they will not run dry. A cool running bearing will go a long way. Like Outbound I agree that topping of the bearings more than once a season is probably not a wise idea. Goose
	Mother Goose's Caboose..2011 RP171..07 Grand Cherokee

TIDALWAVE Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 21 Nov 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Online Status: Offline Posts: 315	Posted: 22 Jun 2011 at 6:07pm
	'Outbound' asked how can the grease get to the rear bearings of a SuperLube hub if the old grease comes out of the front bearings? That is what the Zerk fitting is for. Lippert axles sent me the engineering schematics for the SuperLub hub when I asked them the same question: The hub has a central tube running from the zerk fitting into the rear of the hub where new grease is spread into the rear bearings and then forced around the central structure forward into the front bearings and then out towards the cup.
	TIDALWAVE

psaman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 26 Jun 2010 Location: Corpus Christi Online Status: Offline Posts: 231	Posted: 22 Jun 2011 at 6:38pm
	Thanks Tidalwave, I have wondered myself and this sure clears it up.
	2011 R-177 "Sponge-Pod" 2011 F-150 XLT "Texas Edition"

Goose Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 24 Sep 2010 Location: Arizona Online Status: Offline Posts: 672	Posted: 22 Jun 2011 at 9:14pm
	Great job there TIDALWAVE of answering the question on how it works. I still think that cleaning, a good inspection and repacking the bearings by hand for those that travel alot of miles evry year is wise. Goose
	Mother Goose's Caboose..2011 RP171..07 Grand Cherokee

TIDALWAVE Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 21 Nov 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Online Status: Offline Posts: 315	Posted: 22 Jun 2011 at 10:17pm
	Lippert also recommends an annual bearing removal/cleaning/repacking of the axle bearings. They implied that the Super Lube technique is sort of 'suspenders and a belt' idea
	TIDALWAVE